BTW Project Search

I have a serious double portrait project, that will probably drive me crazy, ready to begin as soon as that d@@n canvas is delivered, (any time now they say). And a triptych I'm looking forward to doing and will begin immediately. My Backyard landscape series will remain on a back burner for whenever. Now,for the BTW portrait project--a pencil portrait of a kid, done in the evening distracted by the TV,(I like distractions; they stop me from thinking and encourage pure response).

Drawings of children, done in graphite or color pencil, are very calming done in the evening before bed. For that purpose, I began scouting out who's next. I thought of my grandson Zac having just seen him last Wednesday. I've only done four drawings of him over his fifteen years, (almost). It's time for another; he's a full two inches taller than me and shortly won't give us the time of day.

Then there's my niece's child Ruby Louise. (Don't you just love that name)? I have never met her,but she's extremely adorable and very photogenic--looks just like her mom, whom I'm very fond of.


I have no current photos of Zac that I consider worthy of time and effort. He's not camera shy. He just wants to remain NP. So be it. Ruby Louise wins.

A couple of years ago, I did this drawing of a kid I didn't know either. Her expression interested me, particularly her mouth; so I spent some time with her and my colored pencils). Any child is a subject matter that interests me no matter who they are. I've always liked kids. they're totally upfront. Innocence in it's best form. And very difficult to draw--they're soft and mushy, have no fully developed features that require hard lines for definition. They're not studied in art school. I'm studying them now.

RUBY LOUISE. FIRST STUDY. FIRST MESS.

I chose a great photo, taken by either her mom or grandmom, of a child in a difficult pose. Kept me struggling straight through Mad Men and Leverage; and was a real contest between my knead eraser and the drawing paper. Tonight, I plan to blow up her head with The Closer.



POSTSCRIPT:

About Mad Men. Whoever is researching it, is out of their mind. I was in my twenties in the sixties, the time period of this show. I was the same age as those "girls" working in that office. I had no idea of how to make coffee and if someone wanted a drink, they'd better have gotten it themselves. I do not recall any of the working women I knew behaving that wimpy way. I don't remember not speaking my mind or holding my tongue. And when I got pregnant, I said I was pregnant. I did not say "I was with child" nor did Honey describe that condition that way. We did wear stupid clothes-- Merry Widows, garter belts and girdles--and spent way too much time on our hair. But gave it all up well before flower children were dancing in the park half naked . Hair was written in 1964, the same year I bought my first bikini--low cut wired cups, lots of belly. The musical was about the hippie movement where hair was in big time and 116 pound bodies needed no restraints; nipples were hip. I maybe missing the point of this show about a world totally oblivious to what was really going on twenty seven floors below their offices--but it sure is a backward comedy to me. It would be interesting to hear the views of corporate women my age.